RELEASE NAMES OF LOOTERS, SERAP TELLS FG

NICHOLAS UWERUNONYE of independent newspaper reports that the  Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, asking him to make public names of those from whom public funds were recovered.

According to him, SERAP said the minister must “within 14 days of receipt of the request provide information about the names of high ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered and the circumstances under which funds were recovered, as well as the exact amount of funds recovered from each public official.”

The Federal Ministry of Information had on Saturday said that the Federal Government had successfully retrieved total cash amount of N78,325,354,631.82, $185,119,584.61, £3,508,355.46 and €11, 250 between May 29, 2015 and May 25, 2016. Also released were recoveries under interim forfeiture, which were a combination of cash and assets, during the same period: N126,563,481,095.43, $9,090,243,920.15, £2,484,447.55 and €303,399.17.

Anticipated repatriation from foreign countries totalled: $321,316,726.1, £6,900,000 and €11,826.11. The ministry also announced that 239 non-cash recoveries were made during the one-year period. The non-cash recoveries are – farmlands, plots of land, uncompleted buildings, completed buildings, vehicles and maritime vessels.

But the government failed to reveal the names of the public officials from whom the funds and assets were recovered. This has attracted criticisms from Nigerians who want the names of people involved published.

In its request, SERAP said, “If we have not heard from you by then, the registered trustees of SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions under the Freedom of Information Act to compel you to comply with our request.”

A statement by Adetokunbo Mumuni, SERAP executive director, which was copied to Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and made available to Independent, said that the FoI request dated June 8, 2016.

The request reads in part: “While we believe that suspects generally are entitled to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, SERAP opposes blanket non-disclosure of names of high-ranking public officials from whom some of the funds were recovered.”

“SERAP insists that the public interest to know is greater than any other legitimate interest that the government might wish to protect. The Nigerian government has an obligation to balance whether the risk of harm to the legitimate aim (that is secrecy of ongoing corruption investigation and presumption of innocence) from disclosure of the names of public officials is greater than the public interest in accessing the information.

“According to public interest test, even if the government demonstrates that the publication of the names of public officials would substantially harm a legitimate interest, it is nevertheless obliged to disclose the requested information if, as it is in the case here, the public interest in disclosure is sufficient enough to overweigh the harm.

“SERAP believes that the recoveries, specifically from high-ranking public officials (and not private individuals), are matters of public interest. Publishing the names of those public officials will provide insights relevant to the public debate on the ongoing efforts to prevent and combat a culture of grand corruption and the longstanding impunity of perpetrators in the country.

“The gravity of the crime of grand corruption, the devastating effects on the socially and economically vulnerable sectors of the population, and the fact that recovery of huge funds from high-ranking public officials entrusted with the public treasury raise a prima-facie case and therefore amount to exceptional circumstances that justify naming those high-ranking officials in the public interest.”

SERAP also argues that Nigerians are entitled to the right to truth derived from the obligations of the government to carry out an investigation of violations of human rights and crime of corruption committed within its jurisdiction; to identify, prosecute and punish those responsible; and to ensure that victims have the simple and prompt recourse for protection against violation of fundamental rights, as well as to ensure transparency in public administration.

“SERAP believes that the right to truth allows Nigerians to gain access to information essential to the fight against corruption and in turn development of democratic institutions as well as provides a form of reparation to victims of grand corruption in the country”, it noted.